Improvement in machines for compacting wire-rope



R. P. ROTHWELL.

Improvernent in Machines for Compacting'Wire-Rope.

N0. 133,059, Patented Nov.12,1872.'

MII

UNITED RICHARD P. ROTHWELL, OF WILKESBARRE, PENNSYLVANIA.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 33,059, dated November 1'2, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD P. RorHwnLL, of Wilkesbarre, in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Wire Rope Machines, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to that part of wirerope machines known as the centering or laying machine, by which the ditferent wires or strands of the rope being made are held from turning and pressed into a compact rope. The first part of my invention relates to the combination of rotary rollers, levers, and screws in such a manner that the said rotary rollers shall be capable of closing and opening1 by means of the said levers and screws 5 the object of this part of my invention being to press the wires or strands of the rope together to any desirable degree of solidity without iiattenin g or changing the cylindrical form of the rope or injuring the wires or strands. The second part of my invention relates to the combination, with rotary rollers, and the levers and screws, hereinbefore mentioned, of a movable or hinged cap or top piece to the stand or frame of the centering-machine, in such a manner that the said cap shall be capable of being sufficiently removed to give free access to adjust or remove the rope or rotary rollers. .The third part of my invention relates to the combination, with the parts hereinbefore mentioned, and the stand or frame of the machine, of a screw-nut, hand-wheel, and bolts, in such a manner that the said stand shall be capable of being moved forward and backward along its pedestal or supporting frame from the apeX of the rope-machine proper, so as to change the distance to suit the ,size and lay of the strand or rope to be made.

Figure 1 is a front sectional elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side eleva-tion of the same. Fig. 3 is an elevation, showing the rotary rollers and the levers and screw for operating them.

S T is the stand or frame of the machine, to which is attached,by a hinge, H, and a hingebolt, H B, the cap or top piece C P, in which is secured the top rotary roller R on the aXle A, capable of being raised or lowered by the set-screws S S and S S'. R' and R are rotary rollers, same as R, on their axles A and A",

which, together with the sliding heads S H and S H', slide to and fro in slots of the stand S T and cap G P, when operated by the handwheel W turning the ri ght-and-left-h and screw S, which separates or brings together the nuts N and N', and with them the ends of the levers L and L jointed to them, thus causing the opposite4 ends to move in opposite direction, and they, being in contact with the slidin g-heads, will operate the rollers R and R, as desired. W is a hand-wheel for turning the screw Sf, which, working in 4the nut N, causes the stand S T to slide alongthe pedestal or supporting frame P. B and B are bolts for securing the stand to the pedestal when moved to its proper position. The rotary rollers R, It', and It, shown in Fig. 1, are for making large ropes or cable's, and those shown in Fig. 3 are of asize for makin gsmall ropes or' single strands. These rollers are usually made of steel, hardened, and in sets, with the grooves of such sizes or radiuses as to make,when together, a circle ot' the same diameter as that of the strand or rope to be made; usually the edges of the rollers are not quite together when they form the circle required, so that they may still have room to close and pinch the rope or strand tighter, if required. The levers L and L are usually made of steel, and tempered so as to be somewhat elastic, and allow any small swell or other inequality in the wire or strand to pass through without injury to the machine or rope and still under nearly the same press-y ure, making a rope or strand of uniform density.

The nut on hinge-bolt HB being unscrewed and the bolt turned down, the cap P may be turned back on its hinge H out ofthe way, and the strand or rope to be made commenced in the usual way; then, by placing a set of the rotary rollers of the proper size to make the strand or rope required on their axles in the machine, and bringing the cap P back to its place and securing it by the hinge-bolt H B 5 then, by operating the hand-wheel W and the screw S, placing the stand S T in its proper position for the lay and that size strand or rope, and lowering the top roller R to its proper position by the set-screws S S and S S, and turning the hand-wheel W so that the rightand-left-hand screw S will cause the nuts N and N' and lower ends ol' levers L and L' to separate, thus causing the upper ends of the levers to move toward each other, they will push the sliding heads S H and S H', and, with them, the axles A' `and A" and rollers It' and It", until they come in contact with the strand or rope. They may then be tightened to any degree desired, and the machine will be in proper working order, and will make a very compact round strand or rope-without injury to the wires or strands, at the same timorequirin g less power than the means usually employed, namely, of using two semicircular steel dies with the front edges or mouth funneled, so as to avoid cutting the' wires and allowing the strand or rope to slide through and clamping them closer together whenever it is desirable to make a more compact stra-nd or rope;

but in so doing there is a tendency to flatten and not make a round strand or rope, the pressure being almost entirely on the top and bottom sides; and, as these dies are perfectly rigid, any slight inequality in the size of the strands or wires will cause an increase or decreasein the pressure they are subjected to, and consequently a more compact or loose strand or rope, as the case may be, which, together with the friction of this method, makes it impracticable to form the saine round. uniform, and compacty strand or rope as can be made by using the invention hereinbefore described.

In this machine I .have used but three rota ry rollers at an angle of one hundred and twenty degrees, but do not confine myself to that number; and

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination ofthe rotary rollers It, It', and R", and sliding heads S H and S H', and axles A, A', and A", and elastic levers L and L', and nuts N and N', and the screwr S,

substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination of the cap C I?, and. 

